


Matters of the Heart

by loveiscosmicsin



Series: Hymn of Stars and Blood (Secret Santa Gifts & IgNoct Drabbles) [9]
Category: FF15, FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Post-Episode Ignis, Post-FFXV, Romantic Tension, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveiscosmicsin/pseuds/loveiscosmicsin
Summary: “Hey, aren’t you gonna congratulate me or something? Everyone else did.”“For?” Ignis tilted his head even though he knew where Noctis was steering the conversation toward.“I’ll be your king in three days.”





	Matters of the Heart

[Tumblr link](https://incandescent-liberator.tumblr.com/post/169193050626/matters-of-the-heart)

Ignis focused on the horizon with a discerning and absent gaze. It was a quiet fixation. The sun was seemingly at the center and balance of everything, making the mauve clouds surrounding it part and welcome the light of a new day. It was a fulfilling sight to say the least.  
  
“Knew this was where I’d find you.”  
  
“Perhaps I should have found a less perceptible spot like the rooftop.”  
  
“Wouldn’t stop me from searching high and low for you. Don’t forget that I know this place like the back of my hand.”  
  
Ignis looked up and saw Noctis approach from the distance. Normally, the advisor would mind his courtesies and stand at attention to the sovereign, but Noctis’ modest attire of blue jeans and a black shirt made this meeting relaxed and pleasant.  
  
Ignis smiled, delighted to know that he was sought out by his childhood friend. “You’re up early.”  
  
“So are you,” Noctis returned with a lopsided grin of his own and unceremoniously took a seat by Ignis, leaping to his feet immediately afterwards. “C-cold! How long have you been sitting out here?”  
  
“Oh, I’ve lost track of time.” Ignis held up a fist to his lips and resisted laughing. “The ground’s a little damp but it’s not unbearable.” The advisor shifted his eyes to Noctis covering his rear end with his hands. “I could,” he began, shrugging out of his coat. “loan you this to sit on.”  
  
Noctis grimaced before planting himself firmly on the grass. “Forget it,” he refused, inching closer until his shoulder touched Ignis’ arm. The advisor felt the weight of his tenacity. “Sitting out here as long as you have, you should keep it.”  
  
Draping the coat over the raven-haired man’s shoulders despite his protest, Ignis regarded his friend warmly. The rising sun illuminated Noctis’ profile, creating a halo of radiance about him. The raven locks were akin to shadows, almost curling around the contours of his cheekbones and the light popped between strands. Sleep remained evident in his features, but the dark crescents under his eyelids were fading. The young prince’s sleep schedule was less than agreeable with him as of late, finding himself up earlier than desired and falling asleep at a far more reasonable timeframe though he missed the midnight excursions to the garden.  
  
The advisor’s attention was wholly engrossed on the man who never ceased to amaze him that his companion’s sudden inquiry startled him: “So what’re you looking at? The sunrise?”  
  
Ignis hastily tore his eyes away and fought to sort his bearings of what brought him here in the first place. Thinking on it, he supposed he didn’t have one to begin with, there were a number of alternatives: stay in bed, prepare breakfast, attend to the agenda framed the night before, but an unplanned stroll around the palace ended in the courtyard. There was some liberty and pleasure in doing the unexpected for a little while.  
  
“Yes...” Ignis swallowed, raising a finger to push the visor to the bridge to his nose and finding that they were absent. He had left it in his room. “Isn’t it lovely?”  
  
After all, it was because of Noctis that the dawn returned to Eos. It didn’t cease the first time it happened, and it likely never would again. Day and night, light and dark, resumed.  
  
“Yeah, it’s definitely something,” Noctis affirmed with a weary sigh. “You know, just the other day, kids went up to me and asked why there’s a sun. Wouldn’t let me go until I answered all their questions about everything in the sky. I’m not an expert. I just made the light return.”  
  
Children born before or were too young at the time were naturally confused about the renewed state of their world. Ten years ago, it had fell to darkness and the younglings were ever so curious when the balance was restored upon Eos and the prophecy of yore fulfilled. They had only known of the harsh lights powered by meteorite shards and toxic fumes of by-product wastes sprung from the generators. Now, they need not fear the daemons at night, they were gone. Eos became the world of wonder once more.  
  
“Have you forgotten all that I’ve taught? You seemed to have grasped the subject matter adequately when we were children.”  
  
“Didn’t I draw in those astronomy books? Remember how mad you were?” Noctis closed his eyes before opening them, a lazy smile on his lips. “Hey, aren’t you gonna congratulate me or something? Everyone else did.”  
  
“For?” Ignis tilted his head even though he knew where Noctis was steering the conversation toward.  
  
“I’ll be your king in three days.”  
  
Noctis Lucis Caelum, 114th of his line and Savior of the Star, was to be coronated before the ancestors of blood and his adoring public. Destined to be the vessel of the divine at a tender age and an life expectancy thought to be cut short, he lacked the foresight and worldliness of predecessors who had ascended at his age or well before it. He was overwhelmed by the responsibilities as of late, accepting the help of his loyal retinue and the Crownsguard to assist him. Ignis was personally involved in organizing the worldwide event.  
  
And he will then witness Noctis don on the silver horned crown of Lucis perfectly laid on the shell of his ear.  
  
All but in his heart, Ignis had chosen to refrain from addressing him as His Majesty until then.  
  
“You were my king long before this coronation, Noct, but congratulations are in order.” Ignis answered sincerely, recalling that he had a gift for him to commemorate the crowning, one he thought the younger man would enjoy. Before he could express his good wishes, he asked, “But may I ask why so glum?” Claiming the throne was a desire Noctis was so close to achieving.   
  
“I...” Noctis began, suddenly looking smaller in Ignis’ coat and rubbed the back of his neck. “just wanted to know if this would change anything.” As if regretting the choice of words, he dared a quick glance and his voice raised to rectify himself. “Come between us, I mean.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“You know what I mean. Insomnia’s like the size of a small town right now and word gets around quickly. As soon as the coronation ends, you’re sailing to Altissia and taking over the Maagho. Or heading over to Tenebrae and give Ravus a hand.” The king wore a wry smile, betraying his sadness. “Well, he could use one, I dunno. Why not? He’s king of Tenebrae and Niflheim now.”  
  
Has someone been making rumors about him? Ignis wondered. The soon-to-king was formulating baseless assumptions that he firmly believed.  
  
“So quick to be rid of me?”  
  
Noctis lost color to his face, his breath shaky. “Hey, I’m not gonna ask you to stay. If you’re planning to leave. You’ll always be welcomed in Lucis. It’s your home, too. Just... I don’t know what I’d do without you.”  
  
“And what would you do without me, hmm?” The advisor echoed, thoughtful. A question that he never once asked himself.  
  
“I...” The prince brought his hands together and shook his head. “To be honest, I took you for granted. Thought you’ll always be around and we can keep doing the things we’ve been doing. But... that’s not the case anymore, is it? You guys stayed with me this far and I’m not about to step down from responsibility yet.” He reached out and laid a hand on Ignis’ shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “In the end, I might not have you at my side, but I’ll always have you in my—”  
  
“Heart.” Ignis uttered the word that didn’t come from Noctis directly, but echoed from distant memory. It brought a sense of déjà vu, but that memory belonged to him. Despite being unable to recall why, it made his eyes water and heart ache to excruciating degrees. He pursed his lips, certain that he heard the true extent of Noctis’ unabated feelings before, but the circumstances surrounding them shrouded in mystery.

  
“Huh?” Noctis was puzzled and a little impressed. “Did you read my mind?”  
  
That, Ignis couldn’t summon the articulation required much less an explanation, but clairvoyance was an ability he did not possess. “You tend to speak wholeheartedly.” Ignis’ hand drifted high then low, forefinger found and lingered over the prince’s chest, where his heart was, touching without touching. The younger man’s throat constricted slightly in response. “If not because of the counsel around you then I suspect that the culprit lies here.”  
  
“And surely,” Ignis continued, now feeling the permeating warmth spread onto his fingertips, “the language it speaks is ample reason as to why I am attracted to it. That is what I know.”  
  
It would be a severe offense to weigh Noctis’ candidness lightly, one could reach out to hold it in the palm of his hand. He would rule well with a kind heart, essential and invisible to the eye. However, there was no heart that resonated in the universe to Ignis like Noctis’. Eos needed rulers who could be healers and peacekeepers. Ignis had known despair and when he looked upon Noctis, he saw hope for all life. He was a king long before the date of the coronation was set.  
  
Noctis was rendered speechless for a moment, his cobalt eyes solemn, drawing Ignis further. “Know what my heart’s about to say next?”  
  
Ignis admittedly did not.  
  
“It’s saying that...” The prince trailed off, admiration and gratitude bright in his expression. “I really do owe you one. Big time.”  
  
“Is that a promise? You don’t know what I have in mind.” Ignis crossed his arms, sounding skeptical of Noctis’ proposition. “Maybe I don’t know how you could repay me right this very moment.”  
  
“Uh, okay,” Noctis rubbed the back of his neck, caught off-guard. “We can put a rain check on it until you do.”  
  
”Then it’s settled, I’ll remain with you and..." Ignis smiled softly as he playfully pushed Noctis’ chest. “You don’t owe me a damn thing. Is this agreeable?”  
  
“You’re not leaving?” Astonished, the prince’s blinked before shaking his head. "That's a load off my mind..." The relieved expression was gone as soon as it came, for a frown and an accusation soon followed. “I can't believe you set me up! Why didn’t you say so in the first place?" he yelled, shielding his flushed face behind his hands.  
  
Ignis laughed. "Why, Your Majesty, I’ve never said I was leaving. You instigated this because of hearsay." He sighed in mock exasperation though disappointment was hardly on his mind. Poor Noctis’ embarrassment was boyish, endearing and at his expense, ignited something within the advisor, daring him to goad him on. Consequences be damned. “You shouldn’t have listened to such idle chatter.”  
  
“Oh, now’s the time you start calling me that?” Noctis glared at him, the effect of his withering gaze ineffectual and before Ignis could discern why, the prince reached out, fingers tightly woven in Ignis' collar and pulled him in. He kissed him swiftly.  
  
And Ignis found himself kissing back fiercely.  
  
But the moment didn’t last long for Noctis abruptly ended it, his hands still on him. "No wise crack this time?” His laughter was strained, choked and shattering. He was breathless, but fear soon replaced the confidence.  
  
But he was utterly and devastatingly breathtaking.  
  
Ignis brushed a dark lock and tucked it gently over Noctis’ ear. A stolen kiss that made his tongue so weak it forgot what language it spoke. Wordlessly, his eyes dipped to his exquisite parted lips and to the brimming apprehension in his eyes, almost apologetic and carefully following the older man’s gaze, almost yearning. But this was no juvenile prank. Ignis kissed him this time.  
  
And neither of them pulled away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to @letshareapapou for writing this with me! <3 I forgot why I wrote this fic in the first place and then it just led to sexual tension. Couldn't figure out if I wanted to end unresolved or resolved. But I wanted to start 2018 with an IgNoct fic and conclude Hymn of Stars and Blood collection finished. Get started on Promptio and IgNoct weeks.
> 
> It's finally 2018. Happy New Year! May everyone start off on the right foot.


End file.
